Starr Mountain Blueberries: Bringing brain food to the people
Rachal Pinkerton/Sun Tribune A lug of berries handpicked at Starr Mountain Blueberries.
QUINCY — Starr Mountain Blueberries is a family-owned business that produces and sells delicious blueberries.
Owner Stacey Sarty first planted blueberries in 2007.
“My wife wanted me to plant blueberries for the health benefits,” said Sarty. “I did. I planted 24 acres of them.”
That first year, Sarty planted two varieties – Elliott and Bluejay. The following year, he planted six more varieties, totaling 38 acres of blueberries. But two of the varieties were eventually torn out, leaving him with 24 acres.
“The one was a late variety I didn’t want,” Sarty said. “The other wasn’t a good berry.”
Twelve years later, Starr Mountain Blueberries is producing blueberries that can turn anyone into a blueberry lover.
Sarty harvests the majority of the blueberries by machine. The machine, which was made by Blueline Manufacturing out of Yakima, gently shakes the bottom of the blueberry plants. Ripe berries fall onto foam padded plates on the bottom of the machine. They are then transported via foam padded belts to lugs (plastic crates) that hold the berries until they are packed for selling. During the process, the machine sorts out some of the leaves and green berries that may have fallen off the plant and blows them onto the ground.
The blueberry picking machine requires three people to operate it. The driver sits on top of the machine. The other two sit on both sides of the machine and replace lugs as they are filled.
Once the lugs are filled, they are taken for packaging. Berries are gently poured onto a table made of wire grate. Small berries fall through the grate, while green berries and leaves are manually picked out. The berries are then poured into cardboard boxes until each box weighs 15 pounds. It takes a crew of two to three people approximately five minutes to clean one box.
The blueberries are then placed into the refrigerator. The total time from field to fridge is measured in a few short hours.
The machine is very gentle with the berries and the final product looks as if it were handpicked.
“It doesn’t really hit too many of the berries,” said Sarty. “It’s like milking a cow. The ripe ones fall off.”
Sarty avoids washing his berries before packaging. The white film that naturally grows on the berries protects the berries and keeps them fresher for a longer period of time.
“I try not to have over a week’s supply,” Sarty said. “I don’t want more than two or three days’ worth. I never want over two weeks’, ever. They lose their powder.”
Not all of the Starr Mountain Blueberries are picked by machine. Sarty has six acres of berries that can’t be picked by the machine. The handpicked berries are sold in one-pint containers.
To get the season started, Sarty will also have some of the berries picked by hand. Then when more are ready, he will use the machine. Typically, a row of blueberries will see the machine twice during harvest. The first machine picking is sold as fresh bulk berries. The second picking is sold for frozen berries. Some of the berries end up in Sarty’s freezer to be turned into juice for the family’s use.
“Last year, we froze about 20,000 pounds for juice,” said Sarty. “My wife calls it brain food.”
The blueberry business has become a family-run business. Last year, Sarty’s daughter, Stacia, began helping with marketing.
“Sales and production doubled when she took over,” Sarty said. “She and my wife do most of the marketing. She does the production side of it. She does a great job. I hate for her to leave for college.”
Prior to last year, Stacia, a senior at Quincy High School, only helped sell at the farmers market. Now it is her full-time job.
“I like it,” Stacia smiled, as she packed pints of blueberries. “It’s a lot of repetition. You get good at what you do.”
“I’d like her to get into marketing and business (in college),” said Sarty. “I’d like her to take over the farm. She loves the fast pace.”
For more information about Starr Mountain Blueberries, visit their Facebook page or the Quincy Farmers Market. Their blueberries are also available at Akins Harvest Foods in Quincy.
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